Milos Raonic

[BearcatSA]

Just completed: Raonic defeats Fish 7-5, 6-4. Raonic won 2/2 and saved 8/8 break points.

Garcia-Lopez was upset by 18-year-old American #156 Ryan Harrison (who also upset #49 Jeremy Chardy), so it's Raonic vs. Harrison in the 3rd Round.

Tough match against a younger home town(home country) underdog. A good test, but the more I watch him play the more I'm impressed by the mental toughness Milos is developing (hope I didn't give him the kiss of death with that statement!).

[jpg75]

Can't take the kid lightly, he could pull a Milos on Milos.

[BearcatSA]

^Definitely, because I watched the Fish match and Milos was subpar. He benefitted greatly from some very questionable shotmaking decisions by Fish (back to back flubbed drop shots to lose the first set). I think he'll be in tough.

[TFCRegina]

^Definitely, because I watched the Fish match and Milos was subpar. He benefitted greatly from some very questionable shotmaking decisions by Fish (back to back flubbed drop shots to lose the first set). I think he'll be in tough.

Statistically he sucked and was only marginally better than Fish. I followed via live tracker...wasn't televised in these parts.

At the end of the day though, he's into the 3rd Round, and Fish is out.

[BearcatSA]

Statistically he sucked and was only marginally better than Fish. I followed via live tracker...wasn't televised in these parts.

It wasn't a good game for either player, for sure. But in the end, as DJT pointed, he overcame his break points and went 2-2 with his opportunities to break Fish, and that was that. Sometimes you have to ride luck or simply grind out a result, both in evidence last night (especially the latter).

[BearcatSA]

Though I'm pleased that Sportsnet showed coverage on "One" last evening, they sure play fast and loose with their scheduling according to their website. When I checked their site last night (10:00 PM Pacific) I could have sworn that they had a big chunk of tennis scheduled for the early afternoon on Pacific (I'm on Shaw Satellite, and it wasn't scheduled there). I planned my taping accordingly, but all I got was skiing in Chile and poker .

[BearcatSA]

Again, last night the Sportsnet.ca website had no tennis scheduled for today, but I checked today and they now have tennis scheduled on "One."

(Fortunately, I took a chance and cued up my recorder for when I thought the tennis may be on, on "One," and it looks like that might pay off.)

[theaub]

If not, you can find a stream @ livescorehunter.com

With the way the matches are currently going I'd expect the match to start at about 8:00 EST

e: More like 7:00-7:30 since Gasquet is ripping it

[BearcatSA]

Tough one last night. I thought Harrison played a great match but Raonic didn't seem to have that extra pop in his game (some of that due to his opponent's play). Nonetheless, he didn't pack it in, even when he got broken twice in the deciding set: with his back to the wall, he was still tough to beat in the end, and that's what I like about this current run he's on. Massive props for both players. Harrison faces Federer next.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Tough one last night. I thought Harrison played a great match but Raonic didn't seem to have that extra pop in his game (some of that due to his opponent's play). Nonetheless, he didn't pack it in, even when he got broken twice in the deciding set: with his back to the wall, he was still tough to beat in the end, and that's what I like about this current run he's on. Massive props for both players. Harrison faces Federer next.

Agree about his perseverance, this toughness. Very good sign. Harrison had an excellent match and was on for most of it, so much so there was luck there. But Milos stayed close in a match I think he did not deserve to win.

TVE Spain showed the match live in the wee hours on their sports channel, I was amazed I got to watch Milos on the big screen at home, sacrificing sleep.

He needs to keep his serve on, it is a big part of his game. Here he let it slip at the start of the last set and paid for it.

Milos is tall and has tall-person defects. He does not flex enough, neither knees nor arms. Not a lot of top spin, nor undercut, his hitting is very flat and straight. He has to take the ball high and so gets away with this, as he can place shots, but if someone plays to his body or low he does not get down well. This can be fixed, I watched Karlovic who in principle would be a similar build and player, and he is much more flexible and dynamic with his body. Something to train for.

In any case, the kid should rise a few more ATP spots next Monday, meaning easier early round rivals and better draws. I am confident it is going to be a hot year for him.